Yasemın Aydinoğlu - Istanbul Noir

And so she would succumb to the hand when it found her this time; this time, she would not put up a fight. He would take her down to the furnace in an ordinary apartment building. Using a piece of the coat, the hand would gag her before tying her hands and feet together. Finally, the girl would feel the knife entering her throat, and with it, a searing pain. Her mouth stuffed full of red plush and soaked with her own red blood, she would emit a sobbing sound — the kind only children make at night in their sleep.

Three hours after the girl was found, the old woman said to be her grandmother spoke her last sensible words: If this is what happens in the heart of Moda, then we are done for.

Last stop, the driver would say.

Go on, Nazlı, go straight to your grandma’s house, the man would say, his hand still inside that of his daughter.

I’ll never leave you alone again, Nazlı, he would say to her.

He would find his daughter, in her red coat, beautiful and untouchable.

There was an aura of loneliness about the man who stepped out of the eight-person dolmuş at the Moda stop. He walked downhill, toward the stairs, toward Koço, toward the sea. Meanwhile, not far away, a monotone silhouette of synthetic prosperity reflected upon the water; at the Moda Maritime Club, grandiose preparations for a wedding were underway.

aas in f ather

cas in jam

ças in chicken

eas in p et

gas in goat

ğ(soft g) a silent letter that elongates the vowel preceding it, as in nat ion

ias in p iano

jas in the “s” in trea sure

oas in g oat

öas eu in the French fl eur

rsomewhere between the English and the Spanish r ( right and pe ro)

şas in ship

uas in f ull

üas in the “ew” in f ew

abi: colloquial for ağabey .

abla: older sister, ma’am.

ağa: man wielding clout, feudal lord.

ağabey: brother, older brother.

Allahuekber: “God is great, God is almighty.”

amca: uncle, used also as a term of endearment and respect.

bayram: Islamic holiday, usually either Holiday of Sacrifice or Holiday of Sweets, as they are called in Turkish.

Bey: Mr., used after the first name.

börek: pastry, usually with some savory filling, which comes in baked or lasagna-like varieties in different sizes.

cacık: side dish, a kind of cold soup (akin to the Indian raita ) made of yogurt, diced cucumbers, and sometimes garlic; tzatziki in Greek.

cezve: Turkish coffee pot.

dolmuş: shared taxi, which usually operates between two fixed destinations, very possibly an invention of Istanbul.

döner: dish of meat, a kind of kebab, roasted on a spit at a vertical grill, akin to a gyro or shawarma .

falaka: torture by beating the soles of the feet.

gılman: male servant in paradise.

Hanım: Ms., or Mrs., used after the first name.

huri: female servant in paradise.

imam: religious (primarily prayer) leader of a congregation and/or mosque who may be a volunteer or an appointed civil servant.

kaşar: pale-yellow cheese akin to Italian caciovallo and Greek kasseri .

Kelime-i Şahadet: the Muslim creed of belief; professing it is a prerequisite for adopting the Muslim faith; it is recited in the face of death.

kuruş: Turkish penny; one-hundredth of a lira .

lahmacun: circular, thin-crust pastry (akin to an individual pizza), usually with a meat topping.

lira: Turkish currency.

lodos: south or southwest wind.

mantı: dish of boiled dumplings (akin to ravioli), usually served with yogurt.

maşallah: an exclamation meaning, “Wonderful!” or “May God protect you/him/her from evil!”

medrese: building or group of buildings used for teaching Islamic theology and religious law, usually including a mosque; an important part of Ottoman architecture.

mevlit: celebration involving the chanting of “Mevlit,” a poem by Süleyman Çelebi celebrating the birth of the Prophet Muhammad, and passing out hard candy special to the occasion, usually held to celebrate an event or to commemorate the deceased.

meyhane: cross between a bar and a restaurant where mezes are served.

meze: food prepared in small portions (akin to tapas ) to be savored with liqueur, primarily rakı .

muhtar: elected head of a neighborhood or village.

namaz: Islamic ritual of worship consisting of certain gestures, movements of the body, and prayers, performed five times a day.

pastırma: cured meat; first dried and then slathered with a cumin paste. It is found pretty much throughout the Middle East and Balkans, including Armenia and Greece. The word is said to be linguistically related to pastrami.

pide: generally flatbread, but comes also open-faced with a topping (akin to pizza) or filling (akin to a calzone).

rakı: the “national drink of Turks,” an anisette and licorice flavored liqueur (akin to Greek ouzo), which turns cloudy-white when mixed with water.

reis: skipper of a fishing boat, chief.

şalvar: loose trousers.

simit: ring-shaped, crunchy, savory roll (somewhat akin to a pretzel), usually sprinkled with sesame seeds; a popular street snack in Turkey.

sucuk: spicy, garlicky sausage akin to chorizo.

tesbih: prayer beads, worry beads.

teyze: aunt, used also as a term of endearment and respect.

tulumba: dessert made by pouring dough from a pastry bag, frying and dunking in a sweet syrup (akin to zeppole). yorgan: comforter.

Zamzam: holy water from the Well of Zamzam located in the Kaaba in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.

Yasemın Aydinoğluwas born in İzmir in 1968 and has a degree in Chemical Engineering. She is temporarily residing in New York. “One Among Us” is her first published story.

Tarkan Barlaswas born in 1970 in Istanbul, where he grew up, attending Saint-Benoît French School and the Istanbul University Department of Journalism and Public Relations. His short stories have been published in Varlık and Adam Öykü . He received the 2006 Everest Publications First Novel Award for his novel Lanetli Oda . His second book, Huzursuz Ruhlar , a story collection, was published in 2008. Barlas works as an advertising copywriter.

Mehmet Bılâlwas born in 1962 in Istanbul. He studied sociology at Istanbul University and Germanics and Political Science at Stuttgart University. He has worked as a reporter and editor and is currently an advertising copywriter, scriptwriter, and songwriter. He is the author of two novels and a collection of essays on Turkish pop music.